End of the Summer Program

It is with much relief that my intensive English Summer Program has ended. For the past two months I have been working for an English Language School, Language Link, taking part in a Summer teaching program while the kids are on their summer holidays. The program was around 6 hours of teaching a day for kids from 6-18 years old. It was pretty full on and tiring. I also had commitments at another school which was a full day on Sunday so my weeks were busy. If I wasn't teaching I was preparing lessons or marking tests. I didn't have time for much else.

There were about 12 other teachers working on the program. Most of them had flown in to work just for the summer. They were from Oz, UK, America and France. It was a good bunch of people and we all had a good time working together.

As many of the other teachers are bidding farewell to Hanoi I am also getting ready to jump on a plane. I am heading back to Oz for a few weeks to catch up with family. I will be spending most of my time on a farm in the middle of New South Wales, 3 hours North-West of Sydney. I plan to spend most of my time with my grandparents who live on a quite large sheep and cattle farm. I will be there in a little under two weeks. I was thinking about the contrasting images of Hanoi to their farm as I ate my breakfast on a busy street this morning. I have adapted to life in Hanoi and everything that comes with it. The street this morning was noisy and crowded and as always, a multitude of things were happening all around me. I am used to this setting now. Bikes were zooming past in each direction, men were pushing carts of soil, women were selling and buying and cooking and eating. Kids were wandering by, oblivious to their surroundings. A chicken walked past, her owner no where to be seen. Smells from various noodle stands wafted through the air. This kind of life can and does get frustrating. Celine and I both find it hard to comprehend why some things happen. On this same busy but very narrow street, two weeks before, two taxis attempted to drive down it in peak hour traffic. Not only was it peak hour traffic but it was through the middle of a market. It took 25 minutes to go about a hundred metres. It defies logic why they would attempt this, but they do and the rest of the traffic seems to accept it.

In two weeks I will be waking up to the sound of nothing; possibly a bird in the distance or one of my grandparents sheep. There will be no traffic, no noise, no pollution and no taxis. There will possibly be the same amount of dust but all in all the contrasts are great. I love it here in Hanoi but I am looking forward to a change and a different scenery; if only for a few weeks.